fast and curious

October 2014

Are you a dog person or a cat person? It’s a 60/40 split here at Curious HQ. Either way, pets have been shown to lower our blood pressure, boost our immunity, and even help us get dates. Here's how to be the perfect pet parent:

With more than 20 projects from clothing to handmade toys, this course will keep you and your little one busy for hours. Stitch an owl softie and finger puppets for fast fun or sew a classic baby quilt for a great gift. Throw together an easy treat bag just in time for Halloween, or get ahead and make comfy pajama pants for the holidays.

Enroll before Sunday night and get $5 to learn anything you want on Curious.

First impressions are made in less than a second – be sure you make a good one by choosing the best outfit. Note: even if you’re not looking for a job, you won’t want to miss her suggested shoes, color palettes, and metallic resume holder.

Master the essentials of DSLR photography in a flash with the Course of the Week. Learn everything from how to use your camera’s features and settings to photography concepts like depth of field over the course of 13 lessons. Now there’s something to smile about.

Kids aren’t the only ones who are sad to see the end of summer. Nobody loves to watch the days grow shorter or pack away their shorts, but whether we like it or not, fall is here to stay. Here are a few projects and recipes we are making to get us excited about the new season.

With the cooler weather and leaves crunching under our feet, we are dreaming of cozy crocheted scarves and blankets.

Fall is the perfect time to pick up a hook for the first time or brush up on your crochet. Once you have the basic stitches, turn them into gorgeous patterns and projects with this week’s Course of the Week, Moogly’s Popular Crochet Stitches & Patterns.

We chatted with Tamara, half of the husband and wife team behind Moogly, about how she got started crocheting, where she gets her inspiration, her advice for beginners, and more.

To start, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your business?I am a self-taught crocheter, and I have been crocheting for about 12 or 13 years now. I crocheted for a long time just for myself, my family, and gifts, and then a few years ago when my youngest was going off to preschool I thought I would start making finished items and sell them. It turned out there was a demand for my patterns, more than there was for the finished items, so I started sharing my patterns instead and I found that I really enjoyed that a lot more. It just kind of went from there.

How did you transition the patterns into teaching?The requests started coming in pretty soon after we began sharing patterns. I started showing the parts of patterns that maybe weren’t as clear, and the response to the tutorial videos was great! We started making more to keep up. It’s all very much organically grown.

What’s it like working as a husband and wife team?It’s great actually. I was a little concerned at first because being on film wasn’t something I trained to do. I’m very lucky that my husband works in television for a production company, so he had some familiarity. He’s behind me over my shoulder making sure things look good and everything is where it’s supposed to be. It’s been really great because we are able to film when the kids are in bed and the dog is finally asleep. It’s made it very comfortable.

Where do you get the inspiration for your patterns or your videos?Oh gosh, everywhere. Sometimes it’s the yarn that really speaks to me, it really wants to be something. Sometimes it’s born out of my need for something, like a storage basket. A lot of it is just my daily life and what I’m making for me or my kids or my family. Also, if I see a technique or a specific pattern in a stitch dictionary that really catches my eye, I like to play with that and see what I can do with it. I also get a lot of video requests to this day.

What’s the weirdest thing you have ever made?I made a chicken hat for a friend of mine, and it basically looks like she has a chicken sitting on her head. It even has the legs with the feet dangling from the ends as the flaps. It cracks me up every time I see it.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?The reader favorite is the Artfully Simple Infinity Scarf. There are probably more of those made than there are people in the state of Iowa. It’s a great beginner pattern, but it’s also really satisfying for experienced crocheters.

My personal favorite would probably be the Eloise baby sweater. I don’t even have a baby to give it to.

What advice do you have for people who really want to learn how to crochet, but just can’t seem to get started?Just have fun with it. Don’t be afraid to frog–to pull those stitches out. I think that’s one of the great things about crochet, you can just yank on that yarn and stop when you want to stop and you’ve only pulled out what you’ve meant to pull out. As hard as it is when you are starting to keep frogging, it’s something you get used to and it’s okay.

What do you love about your job?I love being creative. The daily life of being a wife and a mom isn’t always very creative – there are only so many ways of doing the laundry and grocery shopping, but I love having the creative outlet. I love having something I’ve made every week and I talking to other crocheters. It’s really exciting to talk to all of these people who are just as excited as I am and love to geek out about all of the possibilities of the different things you can do.

Bite into your own mouthwatering homemade cheese with this six-lesson course by Little Green Cheese. Learn how to make cheese by hand, from easy cream cheese to delicious parmesan. Each lesson comes with a list of equipment, detailed recipe, and aging recommendations. You’ll even learn how to wax a wheel of cheese to preserve freshness for harder, drier cheeses.

It’s no secret we love our teachers. Without them, nothing at Curious would be possible.

We don’t mean to brag, but we have some of the best teachers on the planet. From traditional academics and music to creative crafts and delicious food, they have so much to share. Our teachers make lifelong learning possible, and we wanted to take the time to say thank you.

In honor of World Teacher Day this Sunday, you can show your teacher just how much you appreciate them with a comment on their lesson or even a tip.

Let us know who has inspired you. Tweet @Curious with #WorldTeacherDay to share.

Thinking about switching to Windows 8, but don’t know where to get started? Amicron’s easy to follow course will help you navigate the new operating system in no time.

Over 11 lessons, learn how to use the new start screen and desktop, download and use apps, and personalize your device. You'll also get an inside scoop on the most useful apps and programs available on Windows 8!

Bonus tip: Download the classic boredom busters, Minesweeper and Solitaire, in the new Windows Store – you won’t regret it.